Douglas Organic Hydrosol, 250ml
A Breath of the Forest, with a Surprising Hint of Apple
Fresh, green and resinous, with an unexpected fruity note reminiscent of apple, Organic Douglas Fir Hydrosol brings the aromatic character of the forest into your home. Choose it for a refreshing facial mist, a woodland-inspired body ritual or an unusual botanical addition to food and drinks.
Steam-distilled from fresh, organically grown Douglas fir needle-bearing branches from Occitanie, France, this hydrosol offers a gentler, water-based expression of the tree’s distinctive aroma. Its combination of forest freshness and soft fruitiness makes it particularly interesting if you enjoy conifer scents and want to explore something beyond familiar floral waters.
For skin care, use it as a refreshing mist or toner after cleansing, before applying your facial oil or moisturiser. It is also suitable as the water-based ingredient in homemade cosmetic preparations.
In food and drinks, explore it as a natural aromatic ingredient, bringing a distinctive woodland note to water, other drinks and culinary creations.
Essenciagua distils the fresh branches in its own distillery in Lozère, using at least 1 kg of fresh plant material for each litre of hydrosol. Slow distillation and a simple, unadulterated composition give you a product with a clear botanical identity: no added alcohol, preservatives or other additives.
Benefits
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Refreshes and tones the skin after cleansing.
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Offers a fresh forest aroma with a distinctive hint of apple.
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Suitable for aromatic use in food and drinks.
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Versatile as a facial mist, body mist or cosmetic ingredient.
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Certified organic and distilled in France from fresh branches.
Shelf Life of an Open Hydrosol (Refrigerated)
- Typical Duration: Once opened and kept in the refrigerator, a hydrosol will generally keep well for 6 to 12 months. Some delicate hydrosols may start to lose their freshness earlier, while more stable ones (like Rose or Lavender) often last toward the longer end.
- Storage Conditions: Always store in the refrigerator, tightly closed, away from light and heat. Avoid touching the inside of the cap or bottle opening to prevent contamination.
How to Tell if It’s Spoiled
- Olfactory Test: A fresh hydrosol should have a clean, pleasant plant aroma.
- Signs of Spoilage:
- The aroma disappears or changes to sour, vinegary, or musty.
- Cloudiness, sediment, or visible growth (mold/bacteria).
- A sticky texture on the surface or inside the cap.
Practical Tip
Even if the hydrosol is technically within the safe shelf-life window, trust your senses, if it smells or looks “off,” it’s best not to use it on skin or internally. It can sometimes still be used for household cleaning purposes if only mildly altered in scent, but not for therapeutic or cosmetic use.
250ml
Essenciagua hydrosols are 100% organic and natural, without any chemical additives, with impeccable traceability and sourced from short supply chains. They are of food-grade quality, allowing for oral consumption!
Top 3 Benefits for using Hydrosols
1. Gentle and Safe for All Skin Types: Hydrosols are mild and non-irritating, making them suitable for even the most sensitive skin. They maintain the essence of the plant in a less concentrated form than essential oils, offering soothing, hydrating, and toning benefits without the risk of irritation.
2. Versatile Usage: Hydrosols can be used in a variety of ways - as facial toners, in aromatherapy, as linen sprays, for wound care, or as ingredients in homemade skincare products. Their versatility extends to culinary uses, where food-grade hydrosols can flavor drinks, desserts, and dishes.
3. Therapeutic Properties: Despite their mild nature, hydrosols possess therapeutic properties that can benefit the mind, body, and soul. Depending on the plant they are derived from, they can have anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, calming, or uplifting effects, among others, contributing to overall well-being.
How to use Hydrosols?
In Suzanne Catty's brilliant book "Hydrosols the Next Aromatherapy" she explains thoroughly all the benefits and the different ways of using hydrosols. I really recommend reading her book!
Here is what she writes:
"Hydrosols are mild but effective. They can be used undiluted without problems for most topical applications. In some ways you can treat them like water, for instance, to wash a cut or scrape, but it must be remembered that they differ from water in many ways. Hydrosols do contain some essential oils, so whichever one you use will contain some but not all of the properties of the oil, and you will receive some of the benefits that you would get if you used the respective oil.
Hydrosols have a very different pH than water; they are always either slightly acid, like lavender, or very acid, like rock rose. Rock rose, because of its extreme aciditity, is highly astringent and will constrict cells where it is applied. This means it is useful to stanch bleeding; it is also great for tightening pores and reducing wrinkles.
Lavender, with an almost neutral pH, may be better choice if a wound contains dirt or pus, since it can wash the debris out of the cut more easily, as the cells remain open and bleeding will help clean the wound."
Ways to use hydrosols
1. Spray undiluted hydrosols all over the body as a quick refresher, to cool the body temperature or stimulate circulation, to reduce the impact and damage of sun exposure, as a deodorant, or as a subtle perfume.
2. Use neat hydrosols to make your own wet wipes, for both adult and infant personal hygiene (Chamomile Roman is perfect for infants and kids)
3. Use as hand spray to prevent the spread of germs in cold season, or when you are traveling and are being exposed to far more germs than at home.
4. Treat skin conditions like eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis, and poison ivy. Use several small applications per day, the general rule would be no less than three and as many as twelve small localized applications per day, every day until symptoms resolve.
5. Hydrosols can greatly relieve the itching, pain, and redness of the skin in case of for instance eczema. They can slow down the flaking process and speed up the healing.
6. It is very important that you buy organic preservative-free hydrosols.
